About Our Contributing Authors & Artists
Get to know the authors and artists featured in our journal's first ever issue!
Contributors:
Riley Rees- Riley Rees is a nonbinary amateur artist and full time student studying to become a botanist. In their professional life, they focus on evolutionary principles and look at pretty flowers under microscopes. As a creator, they'll try just about anything that makes life more interesting, but their big three are dance, poetry, and woodworking. Jenna Brown- Jenna Brown is currently a freshman English Creative Writing undergraduate at Ohio University. Jenna enjoys traveling, reading, writing, and seeing live music in her free time. She hopes to successfully publish a novel in the future. You can find some of her other work in Sphere Literary Magazine’s Spring 2023 issue. You can find and contact Jenna on Instagram at @jenna_prisc1lla. Amber Schelling- Amber Schelling (she/they) is a queer 20 year-old creative originating from a small town in Michigan. They are currently pursuing a degree in Studio Art, and make prints relating to her experiences growing up queer in a religious home and environment. She indulges in a range of creative mediums that include digital, paint, and printmaking. Amber's work largely focuses on figures, with an interest in exploring the relationship between the body and language and how the two can convey similar (or contrasting) messages to the viewer. Dante Émile López Soto- Dante Émile (he/they) is a gay, transmasculine, Mexican poet currently based in Barcelona. Dante's poetry explores themes such as love, heartbreak, God & violence, and how these often overlap. When they're not writing or reading they're spending time with their cats & discovering new coffee shops. His work has been featured in Defunkt Magazine, Sunday Mornings at the River, and Not Deer Magazine. Alder James- Alder James (he/it) is a gay trans and autistic artist/writer from the East Midlands, UK. His work touches upon gender, identity, sex and kink, body horror, and existing as unapologetically yourself as possible. He ranges from visual art such as collages to poetry and longform writing. You can find him on twitter, instagram, and tumblr all under the username @transmonstera! Dominic de Soto- Dominic de Soto (he/him/his) is a disabled, queer, trans, artist & poet based in the U.S. His art focuses on identity in a punk, provocative way. While his poetry steers more towards narratives of faith, intimacy, love, & trauma. His work can be found @dropdeadbf on Instagram (predominantly) and Tumblr. Julian Victory- Julian Victory (he/zie) is a disabled transmasc writer and artist from IL. He makes art about the neurodivergent queer experience and is passionate about history, animals, nature, and mutual aid. You can find more of his work on instagram @heartorchard. Elizabeth Wolf- Elizabeth Wolf is a self-identified weird fiction writer and masters’ student studying creative writing at Ohio University. As a bisexual woman, Elizabeth sees a great need to include queer characters in her stories, especially to break out of the stereotypes of the community. She wanted to present both Ezra (bisexual) and Wilder (never stated, implied polysexual demiromantic) as people not driven by lust, as queer men are often seen. All of their sexuality is directed into their act of cannibalism at the end of the piece. It was also important for her to show how multisexual people are often fetishized and/or sought out to fulfill fantasies of straight or “bicurious” people. She hopes that this comes through in this piece, as she feels a very special connection to it. Outside of writing, Elizabeth enjoys baking, watching D&D actual play, and hanging out with her one-year-old cat, Squeaker. Roman May- roman may (he/she) is a transmasc poet from the west coast of scotland. His work focuses around topics of family, gender, queer love and sexuality which he explores using experiences from his own life and combines them with grotesque allegory His other work can be found on instagram and tumblr under @taxidermychrist.
Sfarda L. Gül- A previously-published poet in Musing Publications and a Türkiye-Syria earthquake relief zine, Sfarda L. Gül is an aroace femmeflux polyglot artist, poet, and writer of indigenous Anatolian and Baltoslavic background. In her spare time, she is enthralled in the study of ethnography, linguistics, history, and social activism aiding to uplift queer and ethnic minorities of her native East and Global South. Kaitlyn Kilmer- Kaitlyn Kilmer is a media major with a focus on screenwriting. With a passion for character and world building, her writing and films focus on many social issues such as equity, environmental destruction, and the human condition. Rey De Spain- Rey De Spain (he/they) is a young gay trans man, and a lover of body horror and queer shit. They like to let fictional characters tell nonfiction stories, and what’s better for that than some good, old-fashioned gay horror? He’s so, so thankful for the opportunity to work with From Heart to Stomach and see where the magazine takes him. Extra thanks to their family, friends, and writing professor for helping him cultivate his work!! :) Tae Ganger- Tae Ganger (He/They) is an eclectic Ohio artist who explores the mystical stream of human sensation and experience. His art is an empathetic display of what it feels like to be a feral animal conscious of itself. He draws inspiration from the overwhelming depths of the unknown found both within and outside ourselves, and the blurred line where the separation is not so apparent. He works with recycled materials because he finds beauty in the alchemy of transforming “trash” into art while withholding power from consumerism by foraging for materials rather than buying them. It’s also good for the environment! Along with making jewelry and sculpture, Tae is a writer and poet. He strives to give a voice to an American culture that struggles underneath the weight of a rat race mentality, a voice more authentic and closer to the heart. Lizzy- Lizzy is from Dayton, Ohio. She is currently attending school at Ohio University. When she's not stressing out about school, she's cooking for her roommates. Her main goal in life is to watch every movie ever made. It's going poorly but she's trying her best. Ru .th- ru.th is a 24-year-old student from Germany, currently struggling to finish their BA in political science. They have been writing since their early teens, mostly about their (doomed) relationships, a deep yearning for connection and their devotion to flesh. When they’re not writing, they can be found painting clouds or reading sci-fi underneath their big living room window. More of their work can be found on their Instagram @lessdepth and their Tumblr at lessdepth.tumblr.com. d.d.b.- d.d.b. is a Russian/Israeli poet born and raised in Thailand. He is 20 years old and has long had a fascination with many forms of writing since he was a kid. Having spent a long time writing fiction horror stories in prose beforehand, he has now spent over the last year writing poetry and posting it to his @casket.of.poems Instagram account (as well as writing a book of poetry). In his writing, he enjoys finding beauty in topics that many would consider macabre or just generally “gross” (bugs and parasites, for instance) but also writes nostalgic poems about his childhood memories in Thailand. Sesso Nullo- Sesso Nullo (@sessonull0 on ig) is a young trans and gay poet who writes mostly about queerness and mental health issues. He tries to experiment with primarily sacred and esoteric imagery and symbolism, followed by dark and grotesque settings. Sesso Nullo mainly writes in his mother tongue, Italian, but does frequently offer translations in English. He has additionally done some self-publishing of his work. Abel- Abel / @regretgoblin is a queer trans artist and printmaker. His work draws on his lived experience, and often inspired by things that were taboo for him growing up in a restrictive household, like sex, queerness, horror, and the occult. This piece is a very personal one; it centers around the changing body in transition, growing into your queer self, learning to love and be loved, all of which means leaving some people behind. If you want to see more of his work, find out about the trans art collective he’s starting, or join his patreon sticker club, you can find all the links on his carrd site: www.regretgoblin.carrd.co